BERLIN (Reuters) - German voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel a second term on Sunday and a mandate to partner with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) in a government that will rein in the role of the state in Europe's largest economy.

Merkel, 55, has ruled for the past four years in a "grand coalition" with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), an awkward partnership of traditional rivals.

The election result frees her from the shackles of that marriage of convenience, allowing her to form the center-right government she has argued is best placed to nurture Germany back to health after its worst recession in the post-war era.

What this really means is four more years of the bizarre photo pose below...

Merkel is from the conservative Christian Democratic Union. She is more aligned with Sarkozy than Obama. If you followed foreign affairs you would recognize that fact.

What Obama has gained is a more conservative Germany that will be more openly critical of his policies. Yes, I would count them as being more pro-American now. Certainly more pro-American than the Apologizer-in-Chief.

Merkel has reluctantly agree to expanding insurance of bank deposits, she did sign a stimulus plan, but as criticized the US for the overly large one that we have enacted and criticized Obama for planning further stimulus plans.

She has stated her plan for further Free-Market reforms in Germany. Historically, she has supported reducing the VAT and substituting a flat tax. While German coalition politics have forced her to compromise some of those views her core positions are for fiscal restraint. She has been closer to Bush than Obama in her Middle East policy.

This was not a win for Obama, and unlike CNN's reporting it does not show a weakening f her position, but rather she is stronger because she is able to take on a more conservative coalition partner than she had previously.

SAUD manages to quote the one part of the article that would make you think that this is a plus for Obama. But this change has more to do with moving away from the leftist policies of her predecessor than moving toward Obama.

Merkel and Obama have clashed on:

* Afghanistan - Obama wants to dump more of the work on Germany, she wants to maintain their role.

*Guantanamo - she won't take prisoners

*Economic policy - She has been repeatedly and openly critical of Obama's bailouts and spending. Her country's economy is recovering faster than ours.

*The auto bailout - GM owned Opel, which used to employ 25,000 in Germany. Obama wanted the German government to buy out Opel. Instead they have supported a free market solution and Opel will be purchased by another company.

* He snubbed her with repeated refusals to visit, apparently as pay back for her refusal to let him hold a campaign event in front of the Brandenburg Gate (he held it elsewhere)

* He has yet to accept an invitation from Merkel to attend the Nov 9 anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall.

As the BBC (the well known organ of the vast right wing conspiracy) put it: "These are not the signs of a blossoming friendship..."

Obama's smarter, more intelligent foreign policy has Europeans referring to him as "President Pantywaist". Yeah. He's really doing a good job.

The left only pays attention to the left. They will ignore Europe and just suck up more to Chavez and his pals.

They already are. Sarkozy has called Obama "naive" and that "We live in the real world, not the virtual world. And the real world expects us to take decisions." Previously he has called Obama's Iran policy "Arrogant" and "Utterly Immature"

Recently both the Poles and Czech excoriated Obama for his decision on the missile shield in Europe.

Of course the money quote comes from Putin himself:

"Any fourth grade history student knows socialism has failed in every country, at every time in history," said Putin. "President Obama and his fellow Democrats are either idiots or deliberately trying to destroy their own economy."

Any chance that you can find any of these in he US press? No way. Newsweek runs a story saying that Sarkozy is jealous of Obama. Get real.